If you can play running back, Iowa State may have a spot on its roster for you. A spot on the team opened up Wednesday afternoon when the school announced the dismissal of running back Martinez Syria. The reason? A violation of team rules, of course.
Syria rushed for 47 yards and a touchdown in five games for Iowa State last fall. During the season he suffered a concussion that forced him to miss even more playing time, and the team held him out of spring practices due to a neck injury. The running back depth was not particularly deep for the Cyclones heading into the 2015 season, and the loss of Syria reduces the total number of backs in the stable by one.
Syria is the third running back gone from last year’s roster too. As noted by The Des Moines Register, Iowa State head coach Paul Rhoads previously confirmed DeVondrick Nealy was no longer a part of the program, and Aaron Wimberly graduated. But don’t worry, Class of 2015 running back Sheldon Croney should be available to play despite shooting himself in the hand in May.
It’s been a rough offseason for Iowa State running backs.